With the FIFA World Cup well underway since its kickoff on November 20, the world is in awe watching as the tournament unravels. But first, let’s take a look back to the very first beginnings of this prestigious tournament.

The first official FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. Since then, the World Cup has been held every 4 years, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1946 due to World War ll.

From 1930 to 1978, the competition was played with 13 to 16 countries. This was then changed to 24 countries in 1982, and later to the more well-known 32 countries format in 1998.

Over the 21 versions of the contest, The History of Soccer reports, “Winning the FIFA World Cup is a rare accomplishment, only eight winners over the total of 21 World Cup tournaments since the beginning in 1930.” This list does not include this year’s 2022 Qatar World Cup, but soon enough, someone else will be crowned champion and create history.

The World Cup is undoubtedly the biggest stage of all. With such a stage, this year’s 2022 Qatar has been reported by NBC Sports to set an all time viewership record: “The 2022 World Cup is expected to pull in 5 billion viewers according to FIFA President Gianni Infantino….” They also state, “In the 2022 tournament in Qatar, the viewership is predicted to be five billion across the world, making that an average of 227.27 million per day.”

Clearly, there is no arguing that there is no other sport, nor competition that has been able to capture this much attention and following from the human race.

Now that you are all caught up with the history of the World Cup, you can go and experience it yourself with this year’s World Cup. It is being held until the 18th of December, so don’t miss out!